I.U. Honors Sirleaf

IU has been applauded for honoring Africa’s first elected female head of state, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, at the recent commencement ceremonies. She received IU’s honorary Doctor of Laws degree for promoting peace, justice and democracy. \nIU President Michael McRobbie aptly pointed out that IU has had a very long history of fostering Liberian scholarship and educating Liberian citizens for decades, which contributed to enduring democratic and free societal norms that President Sirleaf pledged to uphold. \nIU has contributed directly to Liberian scholarship, as some of the best historical-cum-political books have been written by IU professors, or sometimes published by IU Press. \nThe late IU professor J. Gus Liebenow, founder of the IU African Studies program, wrote such books as “Liberia: The Evolution of Privilege” (1969); “Liberia: The Quest for Democracy” (1987); and “African Politics: Crises and Challenges” (1986). Others are IU International Programs Vice-President O’Meara and retired Professor Phyllis Martin’s 448-page book “Africa” (1995); IU Art History Professor Patrick McNaughton’s “Mande Blacksmiths”; IU Folklore Professor Ruth Stone’s “Dried Millet Breaking”; IU African history professor John H. Hanson’s “Migration, Authority, and Jihad in West Africa” (1996); IU History Department Chairman and Professor Claude Clegg’s book “The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia” (2004); IU-based ex-Liberian President Amos Sawyer‘s 2005 book “Beyond Plunder: Toward Democratic Governance in Liberia”; and A.B. Assensoh’s “African Political Leadership” (1998). \nAlso, IU and other American journalism schools produced such top Liberian journalists as Henry B. Cole, Tuan Wreh, Kenneth Y. Best, James Marshall, Stanton Peabody, Rufus M. Darpoh and Jim Dennis. Additionally, IU law professor David Williams’ Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies is using its “Liberian Program” to offer material aid to civil war-devastated University of Liberia and its Arthur Louis Grimes School of Law. IU Law School Dean Lauren Robel recently traveled to Liberia with others to assess the computer, software and Internet needs of the Liberian institutions. \nAmerica’s Firestone Natural Rubber Company, which has been operating in Liberia since 1926, recently contributed $50,000 to train Liberian law students at IU Law School. The U.S. Institute of Peace gave IU’s CCDPS a sizeable funding to produce a pioneering commentary on Liberia’s current constitution. Then, the IU Law School/CCDPS project is harmonizing Liberian civil law and customary law, while IU’s prestigious Institute for Advanced Study and CCDPS hosted the 2005 emerging societies’ conference for Liberian and other legal experts. \nLiberia, indeed, shares traditional friendly diplomatic relations with America. President George Bush, who recently visited Liberia, has already honored President Sirleaf with the U.S. Medal of Freedom. It is, therefore, timely and beneficial that IU too has decided to honor her.